2023 Best Physics Master's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Physics Master's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 13,674 people earned a degree or certificate in physics, making the major the #69 most popular in the United States.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
The Best Physics Master's Degree Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 141 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best master's degree programs for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
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2023 Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools in the United States
The following schools top our list of the Best Physics Master's Degree Colleges.
Top 15% Best Physics Master's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Stanford University the best school in the United States for physics students working on their master’s degree. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Out of the 141 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.
The excellent master’s degree programs at Illinois Institute of Technology helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best physics schools in the United States. Illinois Tech is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Arizona. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Tucson, University of Arizona is a public school with a fairly large student population.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Northeastern University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree physics programs. Located in the city of Boston, Northeastern is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Rochester Institute of Technology came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools ranking. RIT is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Rochester.
Read full report on Physics at Rochester Institute of Technology
With a ranking of #8, University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well on this year’s best schools for physics students working on their master’s degree. UCSB is a very large public school located in the suburb of Santa Barbara.
University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. UW - Madison is a very large public school located in the city of Madison.
Read full report on Physics at University of Wisconsin - Madison
Wake Forest University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Wake Forest University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Winston-Salem.
Christopher Newport University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree physics programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Newport News, CNU is a public school with a small student population.
Cornell University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Cornell is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Ithaca.
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public college with a very large student population.
Read full report on Physics at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
With a ranking of #14, University of Delaware did quite well on this year’s best schools for physics students working on their master’s degree. UD is a very large public school located in the suburb of Newark.
University of Houston did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list. Located in the large city of Houston, UH is a public school with a very large student population.
University of Wyoming landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree physics programs. Located in the remote town of Laramie, UW is a public school with a large student population.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools ranking. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Champaign.
Read full report on Physics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Johns Hopkins University ranked #18 on this year’s Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
The University of Texas at Austin landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree physics programs. UT Austin is a fairly large public school located in the city of Austin.
Iowa State University ranked #20 on this year’s Best Physics Master’s Degree Schools list. Iowa State is a very large public school located in the small city of Ames.
Drexel University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for physics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #21 on the list. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, Drexel is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
Honorable Mentions
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Physics Master's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor, MI |
| 23 | Baylor University | Waco, TX |
| 24 | University of Maryland - College Park | College Park, MD |
| 25 | University of California - Berkeley | Berkeley, CA |
| 26 | Temple University | Philadelphia, PA |
| 27 | University of Rochester | Rochester, NY |
| 28 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC |
Physics by Region
View the Best Physics Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Physics Rankings
Physics Related Rankings by Major
Physics is one of 8 different types of programs to choose from.
Majors Similar to Physics
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Chemistry | 21,239 |
| Geological & Earth Sciences | 7,821 |
| General Physical Sciences | 3,823 |
| Astronomy & Astrophysics | 1,375 |
| Atmospheric Sciences & Meteorology | 1,140 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to A. T. Service.
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More about our data sources and methodologies.
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